Sunday, June 21, 2009

Whatever the wisdom of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, there's little argument over the place of the soldiers themselves.

Soldiers follow orders, of course, even if the Bush policies and the invasion itself were faulty and ill-advised.

An eye-opening tale of soldiers following orders is one of the themes of Martha Raddatz's 2007 book, The Long Road Home. Raddatz, a veteran ABC correspondent, tells the harrowing story of the 2004 Sadr City uprising, a fight that killed an wounded scores of soldiers just arrived in Baghdad from Fort Hood, Texas.

The book is powerful evidence of the bravery and loyalty of U.S. soldiers, who are ambushed by hundred—perhaps thousands—of insurgents. Of all the Iraq war books we've read (and we're read a few), this is by far the most gripping and, in many ways, devastating.

Raddatz also ties the Sadr City fighting to its effects at Fort Hood, profiling the families who must face the uncertainty of not knowing about the welfare of their husbands and fathers.

We usually look askance at jacket blurbs, but the ones on the back of this book are accurate. One of those writers is reporter Thomas Ricks:

The word "sacrifice" is used a lot. In The Long Road Home, Martha Raddatz shows what the word really means, with soldier after soldier. She takes the readers into the Humvees and the streets of Baghdad and shows how American troops sweat, bleed, and fight in the Iraq war. Read it.

We did. It's terrific work and one that stands as compelling testimony to American fighting men and their families.